ABOUT CATEGORIES WEBSITES EMAIL
SUBSCRIBE

Happy Anniversary Jenna | 3 Years

Posted at 9:40 AM | 2 comments | please leave a comment
Happy Anniversary to my amazing wife!

Jenna, our third year has been filled with all kinds of greatness. Thank you for making my life so enjoyable, I look forward to each and every day to come.

All my Love... John

John & Jenna in Friday Harbor 2008
(This is us last year in Friday Harbor for our anniversary)

Labels:

Ellie is here!

Posted at 11:10 PM | 7 comments | please leave a comment
Yes she is here! Eleanor "Ellie" Francis Karwoski is here! Jenna and I are sooooooooooooo excited (and a little tired). I just wanted to share a couple pics; I should be posting a short movie in the next couple days.

Thanks to everyone for their prayers and wishes through this long process, it has meant the world. Jenna and I are so very blessed and feel grateful for this amazing gift. Looking at this little girl takes the wind out of me over and over again.

All our best,

John & Jenna



































Baby Statistics;

Gender: Female (that's what I do, even the dog is a girl)
Weight: 8 lbs 1 oz
Height: 20 inches (if she was taller, she could be a baller)
Born: Saturday @ 2:37am June 13th, 2009
Labor: Very long but natural, super awesome AMAZING work Jenna, I'm so proud of her!
Hair: Some and dark
Eyes: Not sure what they will be, now they are this cool grey... they already have the power to melt me :-(
Name: Eleanor Francis Karwoski
Special name facts: Her middle name Francis is from her father and great grandpa Karwoski
Nickname: Ellie and Ella

Labels:

The final countdown | T minus ? to baby

Posted at 10:30 AM | 6 comments | please leave a comment
I just wanted to share a couple pictures of my beautiful and amazing wife, what an incredible 40 weeks this has been. Jenna I'm so blessed to have you as my wife, what an amazing mother you are, and will be to our daughter... I can't wait!





I love you babe!

Labels:

Project Nursery | Mission Compete!!!

Posted at 8:05 PM | 4 comments | please leave a comment
I (Jenna) couldn't be happier to have our little girls nursery all finished! John and I have been working so hard since Friday night. The prep work took many hours... the painting was a whole days adventure and the chair railing and wood stripes between the colors was one back breaking adventure!

I always dreamed of creating a beautiful nursery for my baby, but this... this is more than I ever expected. John and I worked so hard and to have it finally finished is such a relief! Now... we wait for the baby shower and once we have all of her bedding and decorations, we can complete our little princess' room. Oh yes, there will be more pictures to come but for now... here is the completed nursery!













I just have to thank my wonderful husband for putting so much into project nursery! I couldn't have done it with out him. In fact, if I had it to do by myself, the room would have been one color and the paint job would have been "eh" at best! :0) Thanks John for making our daughters room perfect! I love you and can't wait to start this new chapter of our life. There isn't another soul on the planet I could imagine loving this much, working with, having a family with and just living each day with. You are more than just the man I married, you are my best friend!

Labels:

Project Nursery | Day 3

Posted at 10:58 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Wow am I excited, mostly because the major back breaking work is done!

With all the painting completed, we started on the chair railing and slats. The White slats really made the colors stand out... we love it.

Late Saturday night I installed a little chandelier; it rains down some pretty light with nice shadows all over the room.

Here's a couple more pics, now all that remains is some caulking and then putting everything back in place!







Labels: ,

Project Nursery | Day 1 & 2

Posted at 10:59 PM | 2 comments | please leave a comment
Work on our daughters nursery is under way :-)

Some time back Jenna and I picked colors and mapped out a design... I mocked it up in Photoshop and printed it out (yes I know I'm a geek). We blocked out this weekend for all the work and got started Friday evening to get a head start.



Lots of colors required lots of taping, but I did get to use this sweet rotating laser level.





Next comes the paint, then more paint, then more paint... you get the idea.











Next we start on Chair Railing and other goodies... more pics to come. The dog says bye :-)

Labels: ,

Local Music | Steve Stefanowicz

Posted at 1:50 PM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
One of our favorite local artists, Steve Stefanowics is more to us than just a great artist! To John and I, he's a part of our history as a couple. It will be 4 years, this March, that marks not only the anniversary of our 2nd date together, but it marks the first time we saw Steve perform. The first of many to come. This performance took place at the Bristol's wine and coffee bar, Oppa Beppo's where Steve still performs on a regular basis. In fact, he's performing there tonight and we are very excited to attend!

Steve has quite the remarkable story. Blind at birth, Steve began playing the guitar at age four. Around the ripe ol age of 12, Steve became seriously interested in mastering the guitar and thus began his journey. Steve is greatly known for his "cover tunes" but also has some amazing originals. Mine and John's favorite original is "Time". Click here and scroll down to listen to a sample. You will LOVE this song! Steve is also known as "The Human Jukebox". He claims to know over a thousand "cover" songs. My personal favorite trait of Steve, is his sharp wit. This guy is not only musically talented, but so funny. He likes to interact with the audience and concluding each show we've attended, we're always excited for the next one.

Steve performs all over the place from Seattle to Tacoma. If you'd like to check out where his next show will be held, check out his calendar and trust me when I say, this is a great date night. Oh, and best of all (especially in this economy) all of his shows are free. Just bring enough cash to enjoy a cup of coffee or wine, but do feel free to bring a few extra bucks to toss Steve's way after his performance as he's not always being paid by the venue to bless your ears off with his music!

Labels:

2008 was like... Wow!

Posted at 12:11 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
We've been going through all of our wedding images from this past year to update our website and in doing so, it's brought forth so many fantastic memories. Whether it was shooting some amazing weddings for our even more amazing clients or the building of new and unique friendships.

Each year we feel as though we grow as photographers and as individuals. Most of this has to do with the amazing people we meet throughout the year. John and I regularly comment to each other "Man! We are so blessed to do what we do!", but never has that been more apparent as we're sitting down and focusing on updating our portfolio. I almost think we wear out the word "amazing" as we think of the great relationships we've made with clients, photographers and other individuals in the wedding industry. Not to mention the knowledge we've gained and the ever growing prospective of the world of wedding and portrait photography we now have.

Some of our favorite times in 2008 were our trip to WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) in Las Vegas where we not only visited the booths at the trade show, but took part in a few photo shoots. One which put one of our images in the Fall 2008 issue of InStyleWeddings Magazine. :)

Another amazing trip we took was down in Napa California for the Open Source Photo West. That too was an amazing time of learning, meeting new friends and having a TON of fun! Some of the friendships that were created there have become some of my most cherished of friends. You know who you are! ;)

As for weddings, we had the privilege of shooting in some locations that were first timers for us, like The Hotel Bellwether for John & Suzanne's wedding. This not-so-small destination wedding of about 300+ turned out to be one of our top weddings in 2008!

Then, like we could forget to mention how we ended our wedding season... in MEXICO baby! We're talking about the 7 days and 6 nights we spent in Cabo San Lucas for our dear friends, Chris & Tara's wedding. While we spent the week at the resort Melia Cabo Real, Chris & Tara stayed at Casa Del Mar, which is where they were married on November 10th. This was our first time to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and it was amazing!

You know, getting to travel to new places, near or far is only a small portion of why we love so much what we do. John and I are both extravert's who of course treasure meeting new people. The friendships we've created over the years are priceless to us and we just feel so darn fortunate to be where we are in life.

Thank you to all of our clients and friends who have given what John and I do, true meaning. We are forever grateful! Here's to another amazing year!

Labels:

1/2 way there never felt so good!

Posted at 8:35 AM | 7 comments | please leave a comment
This week marks the half way point for my pregnancy! Only 20 more weeks to go. :) Not only does this week mark the 1/2 way milestone, but it's also very special for another reason. This past Tuesday John and I had an ultrasound and found out that we are expecting a baby... GIRL! :) Mommy's little princess, Daddy's girl you name it this little one already holds the title! Here is her 20 week ultrasound.



We've begun going over the decor for her nursery (thinking lime green & pink) and can't wait to get started! So far we've purchase her crib, stroller and my favorite item so far... her designer diaper bag! YUP, I said designer. :) My Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag in the CAKE design should be arriving very soon. I am sooo excited!

To mark the 1/2 way point of my pregnancy, I decided that I wanted to have some portraits done. Of course my first choice photog was my hubby, so here are a few of the shots we took today. We'll be doing another maternity session during my last trimester, but I just wanted to capture my baby belly while I still felt good. And let me tell ya, the 2nd trimester really does something to a woman. I feel great!













Labels: ,

Too good not to share

Posted at 10:40 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
So while I was bed/couch bound during my first trimester of pregnancy, amongst many other things my husband did to comfort me, he picked me up this AMAZING book to read called The Shack written by William Paul Young. With in just the first few pages, I was hooked! This book is a New York Times best seller. Film producers have already expressed interest in making this story into a movie for general theatrical release and will pursue that after a sufficient number of these books are in circulation. They say that word of mouth is the most effective tool for a book like this to gain traction in the wider culture and there you go, the reason for this blog post :).

I love to read and I love to be inspired. I love that this book inspires while helping to answer some of my very own questions about why horrible things happen to good people. I'd recommend this book 110%!

If you'd like to read more about this book click here. Or to purchase a copy of your very own you can check out your local book store or anywhere books are sold. To purchase online you can click here.

Labels:

Coming Soon...

Posted at 12:45 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
John and I couldn't be more thrilled to share with you our good news. After 2 years of trying & praying we are finally expecting a little one of our very own! Baby "K" (as we are calling him/her until we find out) is due early June. We are just about to hit the 1/2 way mark and it's very exciting.

I spent most of my first trimester in bed. I had a severe case of morning sickness (the kind you can hardly get out of bed with) and thanks to my wonderful husband who took care of me day and night, I made it through. Now that I am fully into my 2nd trimester, I am feeling great and enjoying life again. Most of my energy has returned and I am really enjoying being pregnant. The belly is growing and we've begun to take some pictures to document this amazing time. Here are a few.







We expect to find out the sex of the baby next week. John and I have both always wanted a little boy but after 2 years of trying we are both just thrilled to be expecting a baby (although I know John would LOVE a little boy). :)

We are planning on doing some "1/2 way there" pictures next week as it will mark our 1/2 way point. Stay tuned for those. By the way, these will be the first maternity pictures John's ever taken and the first time I've been in front of the camera for a professional maternity session. Wish us luck. :)

Labels:

Visions of Turkey Dance in My head

Posted at 6:40 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
We'll its no secret that Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Visiting with family and celebrating all we have to be thankful for.. this year especially!

One of the Karwoski holiday rituals is the Brined/Smoked Turkey, I celebrate this turkey in all its splendor :-) I'll include the recipe so you can try it... but with warning: Once you have this, your done.. there is no living without it!


It's here... Turkey time!


My proud father with this years birds.


Brother Joe eying the birds.

The girls made these cute little ornaments, everyone got one.. even "Baby K".







And of course there we lots of great times with family...






Jenna and I hope that everyone had a great Thanksgiving as well, we wish you and your family the very best this season!

Labels: ,

Vote for US - Best in Western Washington

Posted at 2:35 PM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
OK Jenna and I are just a little flattered and excited being nominated for BEST photographer in Western Washington. Apparently King 5 Evening Magazine is running the 2008 contest :-)

To everyone that has voted for Jenna and I, and given us your support over the years... we thank you from the bottom of our heart.

Vote for us on the Best of Western Washington

If you haven't voted yet and would like to, or even just check the standings... please click on the image above. The contest ends October 15, 2008.

Thanks again, John & Jenna

Labels: ,

Happy 2nd Anniversary | September 2nd

Posted at 4:15 PM | 3 comments | please leave a comment
I can't believe it's been 2 years already! Time really does go by fast when you're having fun. :)

To celebrate John had a surprise trip planned for us. He has always had a way of sweeping me off of my feet, and our anniversary was no exception. His secret plans included flying a seaplane from Lake Union up to Friday Harbor in the San Juan Islands. Neither of us had ever been on a seaplane, nor had we been to the San Jaun Islands.





The flight was amazing, flying just a few hundred feet off of the water. We were so close in fact, that I was able to see the birds sitting on the water below. It was an awesome trip and with it taking us just over 30 minutes to reach our destination... it was the only way to go. :)











Once we landed, we checked into our Hotel, Friday Harbor House which was just amazing. Our room overlooked the entire harbor, it was beautiful. Once we were settled, we had to catch our boat... oh yea, he also had a whale watching tour planned for us. By the way, did you know that Orca whales are in fact not whales at all? They are in fact part of the dolphin family. Oh and the nickname "killer whales" is actually a mis-translation from earlier Spanish sailor's descriptions of the animals as 'whale killers'. Just a couple of the facts learned on our 4 hour tour. I was excited to get to see these amazing mammal's but didn't expect to see so many. They were quite active and gave us a great show. Definitely one of my favorite parts of the trip.

















The rest of the trip we spent looking around town, dining out (one of our favorite parts of vacationing) and even riding around the island via moped. This was my first time on one of these things and thanks to Susie @ Susie's Moped Rentals, I was given all of the basics of riding and we were on our way. We drove over to Roche Harbor which was a cute little town. Walking around all of the million-dollar yachts John and I found ourselves in awe.



On our way back to Friday Harbor we stopped off at the San Juan Vineyards (the only vineyard on the island) and had a little tasting, bringing home a bottle of 2005 Merlot (yum!). It was at the winery we were informed about the camel who lived across the street. Yup, I said a camel! Mona the camel, has a great story as to how she came to be. It's a cute story and we (okay mostly me) were excited to meet the girl.





On our way back home Wednesday evening, I was able to reflect on our amazing 2nd anniversary trip that my darling husband planned for us. Thank you baby for making the past 2 years of marriage better than anything I could have ever dreamed of. I love you!







Labels:

Watch for us in InStyle Weddings!

Posted at 8:13 PM | 4 comments | please leave a comment
Jenna and I are super excited to share some news... One of our images is being featured in the Fall issue of InStyle Weddings.

So you want more excitement? The image is of Jenna from the Trash the Dress session we did in Vegas earlier this year! This and several other images were featured in April on trashthedress.com.

As noted, they start arriving on shelves this Friday (September 12th), so just maybe you'll want to pick one up.. or stop by and visit us, Jenna will no doubt purchase as many as she can get her hands on :-)

Do you want more? Here's a link to the full page ad.

I hope my life doesn't change being married to a superstar!!!! Oh wait, I'm in the picture too... look in Jenna's glasses, I'm just really, really, really small :-)

John

Labels:

Mina | John | Blue Angels

Posted at 3:31 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Mina and I took a trip down to a Seattle Park to watch the Blue Angels take off as part of the 2008 Seafair Airshow. I tried telling her it was a "secret spot", but after we showed up and there were LOTS of other people, she assured me it was NO SECRET!

We got some great pictures of the angels taking off, then scooted back home to watch the rest of the show from our deck.

Here are a couple of Mina's favorites:















Labels:

Stanley F Karwoski | A Great Man

Posted at 2:16 PM | 3 comments | please leave a comment
As much as I'd like to take full responsibility for who I am today, I really can't. Much of that molding of "John" comes from the Karwoski men, my father John and my grandfather Stan.

I spent most of last week in Florida after the passing of my grandfather. As sad as this was, it was a chance to celebrate and reflect on how great of a man my grandfather was and his huge impact on my life.

Stan was a Naval Aviator... flying bombers in World War II, then went on to work for the 3M Corporation for 35 years. He worked with the Scotch team at 3M that developed products such as Scotch Tape. From what I understand he didn't fly after the war but had a huge passion for flying that translated into model aircraft building and flying.

At 87 years old he had a long happy life, married to my grandmother Roz for 62 years... it was jam packed full of fun, love and golf. I’m proud we share the same middle name "Francis" as that's just one of the many ways he lives on!!!


1945 Torpedo Bomber, TBF Squadron VT23


February 2006, 60th Wedding Anniversary

Labels: ,

Serve Day | New Life Church

Posted at 9:30 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Got Trash? Of course you do. Everyone has something that they have been wanting or needing to get rid of. Appliances (no refrigeration however), Garbage, Mattress's/Furniture, Salvation Army Donations, you name it, New Life wants it!

Why does this church want our garbage you ask? It's simple. New Life want to serve others with No Strings Attached, just as Christ serves us. New Life Church in Renton will be taking all of your trash, donations and they will even have a paper shredding company on site to shred all of your confidential documents on Saturday May 10th from 10:00am until 2:00pm or until all dumpsters are full. BUT WAIT... it gets even better than that! Come and let us dispose of your garbage and we will also wash your car and feed you lunch! Yup, you heard me right!

Questions?
-Why would a church do this?
-What do they want from me?
-Is there going to be people asking for donations or pressuring me to join their church?

Answers
-To serve our community with no strings attached just as Christ serves us.
-Nothing but your trash. :)
-Nope... no money donations will be excepted and the type of greetings you will receive are smiles and hello's!

For more information and for a list of what NOT to bring, please visit New Life's website

New Life Church's Address
15711 152nd Ave SE
Renton, WA 98058
425.226.0880
http://www.newliferenton.com/

Labels:

Our Blog is Under Construction!!

Posted at 8:28 AM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
So you may be looking at our blog and thinking to yourself, "hmm... somethings looking different!?!" You are correct! John has been working on updating the look of our blog. In fact, we have spent a lot of time over the past few weeks getting ready to re-do or update all of our stuff including our website! So be on the look out for a new look with our blog as well as our website.

Thank you for being patient while we are undergoing all of our updates. There shouldn't be any disruption with the blog or web page (thank goodness, haha) however thank you for your patience during our transition! We would love any feedback or comments from you! :)

Labels:

Family Time | Downtown Renton

Posted at 10:36 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
I just love it in downtown Renton. There is just so much history here and the personality and character that these buildings have is just amazing. While walking around we came across some pictures dating back to the early 1920's and some of the buildings in the pictures were still present and occupied! To learn more about the history of Renton and to see some of the earliest pictures Renton has, click here.

What a treat it was to go and enjoy the sun (it stopped snowing yay!) with two of the most beautiful girls we know! Amy who is 16 and Mina just day's from her 11th birthday were kind enough to spend the afternoon with their dad and step-mommy (that's me lol). We parked near the old Spirit of Washington Dinner Train and began walking around finding new places every few seconds to snap some shots of the girls. We walked around for a few hours, stopping for a break at the Common Ground Cupcake and Coffee shop.

Here are some of our favorite shots of the day. Notice the old brick on some of these buildings... just awesome!

















Labels: , ,

Viva Las Vegas

Posted at 12:10 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
I know... I know, It's been over a week since we returned home from WPPI in Las Vegas but John and I have been SO busy playing catch up not to mention coming home to a full schedule of portrait sessions, which you'll see on upcoming blogs. Here is some fun stuff from our most recent trip.

We spent 6 days in Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers) convention held at the Paris and Bally's hotel. The trade show itself was awesome. We were introduced to so many new products and I found a new product that could possibly turn into my favorite piece of art! Stay tuned for samples! We didn’t come home with as much stuff as we thought we were going to (thank goodness because our bags were at capacity already with all of my shoes hehe) however we have tons of literature to still go through and may possibly be ordering more stuff in the months to come.

There were so many awesome things to see... hello, it's Las Vegas! My favorite part had to be meeting and hanging out with some awesome people! Being that this was our first time to attending WPPI, we had no idea what to expect. The convention and trade show part was kind of a no brainer. Who knew there would be so many parties? Oh My Gosh, do the vendors know how to throw a good party!!! We went to a handful of them, one of which was in the Celebrity Suite at the Palms Hotel and Casino.


The next night was a party at the Parisian Palace. It was amazing.

We weren't as good as we could have been toting along our camera everywhere we went, but here are a few shots that we did get while in Vegas. Okay so all of these were taken from the balcony of our hotel room (The Platinum).

The view from our room


Me, Steve and Larry


The 4 Musketeers!

Labels:

Jenna Trashes her own Dress @ the Boneyard

Posted at 12:31 PM | 6 comments | please leave a comment
Our latest trip to Vegas was an amazing whirlwind of learning, activities and fun. I'm sure Jenna plans to post much more on the trip, but I wanted to tell this little story.

For the short version, watch the slideshow

We arrived in Vegas on the 15th and previous reserved time to shoot at the Boneyard (The Neon Museum), an amazing place filled with retired signs from the Vegas strip. Our friends Steve and Larry and several models made up our crew ;-)

We had been planning the trip for a while, finding models and working out details... some time during that process Jenna got the idea she'd like to put on her own dress and be one of the models. Honestly I didn't really didn't get it or share her excitement thinking what could I do with pictures of my wife in her dress! Still she was so excited about the idea, so much so that it was contagious and eventually she had me excited as well.

The day of we had some models cancel and I decided to shoot just Jenna. Heck she was my wife, in her wedding dress and she was beautiful... add the amazing signs and backdrops and WOW I was inspired. 2 1/2 hours and 1000 pictures later, I had taken some of my favorite pictures ever. See for yourself!!!













Jenna and I actually learned a ton from this shoot, she now has more of the experience from in-front of the camera... this just makes working with our couples better by understanding the experience. And just in case you're interested is a TTD (trash the dress session) Jenna can tell you all about it and how much fun it can be!

Oh yeah, I loved these photos so much... they are up on my wall in my studio!

Labels: , ,

Back from Las Vegas

Posted at 9:51 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Yes, we are finally back and we are home to stay... for the time being anyways. :o) We had a fabulous time in Las Vegas and I have so many good times and adventures to share with you all! John and I are both working like hounds trying to play catch up on so much, but I promise that with in the next few days I will post all kinds of goodies for your reading pleasure! hehe :)

Check back in a few day's or better yet, subscribe to our blog and be notified when we post something new and exciting! Ciao for now.

Labels:

Our amazing trip to Mexico

Posted at 3:03 PM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
I'm note even really sure how to begin this blog. Over the past few days I have been overwhelmed with so many thoughts, so many emotions. I'm not sure if my brain has really had a chance to begin processing all that I've experienced this weekend.

For the short version, watch the slideshow

We arrived in Tijuana late Friday evening. Not to long after we arrived we all settled into our bunks and it was lights out as a long weekend awaited us and we needed our rest. The home we were building was for a mother of two Teresa, and daughters Litzy (2) and Alison (6 months) who were living with Teresa's father in his 15x15 foot home. Teresa's father purchased the land next door to his home for his daughter and that's where her new home was to be built.

When we arrived we unloaded several van's of supplies and got right to work. Several different work stations were set up, some for painting and some for building. It wasn't long before the neighborhood kids were curiously checking out what we were up to with their heart melting and eager smiles. It was amazing getting to interact with these children. Although I don't speak but a few words of Spanish and the kids no English, no one let the language barrier keep us from getting to know one another. Mostly through gestures, smiles and a few misspoken words ;).

The children couldn't wait to get their hands on a paint brush and paint they did! It was a very awesome experience to take a step back and look over the work site and see not only our friends, but the family of the home we were building, and the neighborhood getting involved. We worked until late afternoon, and when it was time to call it a day not only did we have all four walls and roof up, but we had made some great connections with this family and the neighborhood children. We couldn't wait to come back the following morning to finish the home and to spend more time with everyone.











Sunday we arrived to the home site and got right to work. We finished up the roof, touched up the paint and assembled the furniture. While we were finishing up the home and all of the furnishings we asked Teresa to stay inside of her fathers home. Reason being, she had no idea that we were going to furnish the house and we wanted it to be a surprise. :) Once we were all finished with the home and had the inside all set up we asked Teresa and her girls to join us outside. We all had a chance to tell Teresa and her family (with the help of an interpreter) just what meeting her and her family and what the whole experience meant to us. She in turn thanked us. Even if no words were spoken, the look on her face was enough to know just how thankful she was. I truly was an emotional moment. It was now time for Teresa and her family to enter their new home for the first time. She was give her keys and went in to explore her new home. After a few moments we knocked on the door and she invited us in. Probably one of my favorite moments of the whole weekend.

We said our goodbyes and many hugs and tears were shed. Teresa, her family and the children of the neighborhood have definitely changed my life and I think it's safe to say that we've also changed theirs. To be a part of something so wonderfully fulfilling is amazing. To be honest it is a very different feeling when you know that you've done something to help another, but you walk away feeling as though you were the one benefiting from it... that's how this weekend felt. John and I are both so very grateful to have been part of this amazing experience. Anytime you can do something good for someone else and walk away not sure who got more out of it, you or the ones you helped... It must be a good thing! We certainly plan on going again next year, perhaps with one or both of my step-daughters.

If you would like to know more about how to get involved with a mission such as the one John and I just returned from or a hand full of other missions please click here or feel free to email me directly!

"Para cada casa es construido por alguien, pero Dios es el constructor de todo".

Hebrews 3:4










Labels:

Watch out Mexico...Here come the Super Friends!

Posted at 12:23 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
We are SO excited for this weekend! We leave Friday for Mexico with some of our Super Friends (from our small group) as well as 9 other awesome individuals from our Church, New Life.

The purpose of our trip is to build a home for a family of 3 whom as of right now live in a very small house made with cement floors, the walls & roof made from scrap pieces of wood nailed together and a tarp just thrown over the roof. Our mission is to build the Lozada Arispe Family a solid home. New Life Church has teamed up with the organization YWAM which is responsible for building 25,000 homes for families just like the Lozada Arispe family.



It's amazing how little the cost is to build just one home... $6,000! Some Americans pay that in just one month for their mortgage! New Life has committed to building 3 homes for 3 families this year in Mexico alone. Last Sunday our pastor gave us the news that we had raised about 1/3 of that so far. What a blessing! Each one of us going to Mexico are responsible for paying our own way to Mexico however the church and the gifts/donations from our families and friends pays for the cost to build each home.



The trip we are leaving on this Friday is just the first of many to follow this year. Another trip to Mexico is coming up this May as well as many other trips to different parts of the country and world such as New Orleans for Hurricane Katrina relief, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic and South Africa. If you would like more information on how to get involved, volunteer for a trip or to donate to one of these trips please click here.

Stay tuned... upon our return home we'll be sure to post some pic's!

"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything."
Hebrews 3:4

Labels:

Trip to Napa | OSPW2

Posted at 1:26 PM | 3 comments | please leave a comment
Back and recovering from an amazing (to say the least) weekend in Napa, California John and I are both fighting off nasty colds all the while trying to jump back into the flow of... well, work! :)

Not 100% sure what to expect from our first OSP event, we couldn't have been more delighted with how everything turned out! From the 12 hour car ride down with friends Steve Smith & Larry Legler to the days of shooting in places us Washingtonians don't often get the chance to shoot. It was awesome getting to visit & meet so many in the community of photographers along the west coast and we can't wait to see everyone at WPPI in March!

Our first shoot Saturday morning was at the V. Sattui Winery which was my personal favorite place to shoot! The staff was amazing and the grounds were breathtaking. Here are a few pictures from our shoot there. Also, I just wanted to say thanks to ALL of our models who donated their time and beautiful smiles to all of us. If it weren't for you, we wouldn't have these awesome images!


Right Image








Right Image






Right Image

That night we made the short trip to downtown Napa for some night shots, it's such a quaint little city.







Sunday we shot at the Rutherford Train Station which is no longer a running train station but the site itself was quite interesting and made for some pretty sweet backdrops.




Right Image





Finally, Monday before John, Myself, Steve & Larry headed back home we decided to take a little personal tour of wine country and stopped off at Milat Vineyards, Castello di Amorosa then finally Frank Family Vineyards stopping along the way to take advantage of some great photo opportunities for ourselves. Thanks to Steve & Larry we were able to get some great shots of us! Thanks guys!


Right Image

Labels:

Wedding Expo | Not Just For Brides!

Posted at 8:02 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
It's that time of year again. Perhaps you got engaged over the holidays or maybe you started planning sometime last year. Either way, you've probably found yourself at or plan to attend at least one wedding show. The first one of the year was held at the Seattle's Convention Center. John and I attended along with friends Steve Smith and Larry Legler from Steve Smith Photography. We wanted to take some pictures to share with you, however it was asked that NO photography was taken during the Expo (even though not everyone complied). :(

John and I make it a point to stay connected with what is hot and new...what better way to do that then to attend one of the largest wedding conventions in Washington!?! We had an amazing time and even ran into a few of our own brides! We also had a chance to meet and talk with some beautiful new bride-to-be's as well as some awesome vendors! In fact, the entire afternoon we met with so many vendors that it dawned on me...Wedding Shows are not just for upcoming brides. They really are an awesome place to network! We had the pleasure of running into a few people we already knew like Bethany Little, wedding coordinator at Lord Hill Farms in Snohomish, Wa and Jim Fore with Foremost DJ who DJ'd our wedding just over a year ago and whom we very highly recommend to all of our brides. We also made lots of new connections with a few vendors we would like to work with in the future.

It's always awesome to keep up on what's new and what's hot. It's something our brides have come to expect from us and it's something that we just love to provide! In fact...we are heading to Las Vegas in March for 5 days to attend the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) convention & Trade show where we will have the awesome opportunity of meeting any and all vendors that specialize and deal in the Wedding Photography industry! I mean we are talking about 5 full days of seminars, classes, demonstrations you name it, it's there! This will be our first time attending and we can hardly wait!

John and I are really looking forward to what 2008 brings our way! Congratulations to all of you newly engaged couples out there...and if you haven't booked your photographer yet...you may want to think about getting a jump on that as well as booking your other main vendors. It's very common (especially after these expo's) for your most important (and popular) vendors to book solid right around this time of year! Even we are already 1/2 way booked for this year! So don't wait...because you may not have as much time as you think. ;-)

Labels:

Happy New Year!!!

Posted at 8:39 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Just like that...2007 has blown by and 2008 is upon us! What an awesome year 2007 turned out to be. We enjoyed a few leisure camping trips, moved into our new house, celebrated our one year anniversary and had a jam packed wedding season! It's a blessing directly from God for everything that we've been allowed to experience.

2008 is already shaping out to be an even busier year. During what we consider to be our "down time", we have been updating our portfolio's, ordering new samples and taking a few moments to catch our breath before 2008 really gets movin' and shakin'. Come March we are heading to Mexico for a long weekend with our church and amazing small group, to build a home for a family who doesn't even have running water! We are truly blessed for this opportunity and are looking forward to working with our good friends to do something for a family who may not have otherwise known what it was like to have a home that they can call their own. Then...just a week after we return from Mexico, we are off to Las Vegas for the WPPI (Wedding & Portrait Photographers International) convention & Trade show which we are very much looking forward to. Once we return, we will be shooting lots of engagement sessions and before we know it, wedding season will be in full force. With already 1/2 of our calendar booked... John and I are expecting a busy year. However, our hard work will not come with out it's rewards! Just this last year we opened up ourselves to doing a few select destination weddings. With a few already on the books, we still are available for a couple more.
However...any day shooting a wedding on a sandy beach of Mexico or Hawaii...not such a bad day! ;-)

John and I wish each and everyone of you blessings and hope you all have an amazing year! Thank you to all of you who have made us a part of your lives this year! We feel truly privileged knowing and getting to know each of you personally. God Bless.

Labels:

Christmas in Leavenworth

Posted at 8:43 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
I just LOVE Christmas time! I always have. The lights, the cheery faces everywhere, the snow... YES the snow! Here in Renton we don't tend to see lots of snow this time of year. We may get the occasional flurries or the stuff that sticks around for 24 hours. However, that's usually the extent of it!

This year we decided to take a little trip to Leavenworth, Wa. For those of you not familiar with this adorable place, Leavenworth is Washington's Bavarian Village! During the Holiday's, this town just lights up...literally! This past weekend we witnessed the Christmas Lighting Festival where hundreds of people gather around the towns gazebo and greet Saint Nicholas while listening to carolers and breathing in the aroma of roasting chestnuts. Then at dusk...the switch is flipped and the whole town just lights up. It's beautiful!

We spent this beautiful weekend with our good friends, Shayne and Misty (who's wedding we shot this past April) and have ton's of pictures to prove our good time! We ate bratwurst, roasted chestnuts (which are actually quite yummy!) and shopped the shops. What a great way to get into the Christmas spirit! It truly was an awesome weekend and it's something we plan on doing again next year!





























Labels:

Our not-so Charlie Brown Christmas Tree

Posted at 2:52 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Typically the weekend after Thanksgiving is when we get and set up our tree... however with Thanksgiving falling so early this year, I just had to wait just a little longer. Since the first weekend of December is about as long as I could wait... John and I headed up to Covington this morning to the Berrydale Tree farm where we cut down our fabulous just tree. It stands just over 7 feet. It's a very respectable tree and I LOVE it! ;-) It was a bit wet and muddy at the tree farm so we had to let the tree dry out a little bit on our garage before we decorated it. The excitement of trimming the tree was just about all I could bare. Finally after the tree had a chance to dry out we were able to get it set up in our foyer and began the fun process of trimming it.

With snow on the ground I had to run to our brand new Target for some lights... seems no matter how many strands of lights we have they die after a year. John took out the camera to capture some of the decorating :-)

We wish everyone a safe, peaceful and wonderful holiday!

John & Jenna













Labels: ,

It's Snowing Outside!

Posted at 8:08 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
What a wonderful way to welcome December here in Seattle. I've been leering outside throughout the day but just as the sun went down I peeked my camera through the patio door.

I hope everyone has a fun, snowy and safe weekend,

John

Labels:

So Much To Be Thankful For

Posted at 10:03 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
This is the second holiday season that John and I have spent together as husband and wife. For so many couples, the Holidays can be stressful and full of decision makings. We're both so blessed to have such awesome families! My family has been more than great when it comes to sharing me with my husband and new family, and John's family has been more than gracious to share him with me and my family.

This year for Thanksgiving it worked out that we could blend our families for Thanksgiving... and blend we did! After our Halloween party we knew that we could accommodate a decent number of people in our home. After the final head count was in... it was 29 members of the Karwoski, Gregorio, Covey, Saitta, Maes, Smith and Schaefer family who shared many laughs and smiles, not to mention 2 very large brined and BBQ'd birds this Thanksgiving.

John began 2 day's prior to Thanksgiving, preparing his famous brined birds. One was just over 21 pounds and the other 22 pounds! And me... well I spent days and days getting ready to host this lovely feast for our one of a kind, awesome family. John's parents, John and Maralee and brother Joe traveled all the way from Spokane to be with us and my cousin Kimberly, new hubby Chad and Aunt Shelly drove out from the Tri-Cities. The rest of our families amazingly live relatively close by and no matter how small or long their trips to get here... we are so thankful for everyone who could make it!

Now John was insistent on making sure that we had a "sit-down-dinner". Remember... there were 29 of us! Just a few days before "T" Day, we decided to rent a few extra tables and lots of chairs to accommodate this sit down dinner for so many. The day and evening could not have been better! I'm still not entirely sure how we pulled it off (yes I do, I worked really hard, my husband is amazing and our families... ROCK!) but it sure turned out to be my personal favorite Thanksgiving ever!!!

Thank you to all of our family for giving us such a memorable Thanksgiving! Our lives are truly rich because of you! All our love through the Holidays and always!

Jenna and John

Labels: ,

Halloween Party!

Posted at 8:57 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Saturday night we had a chance to get many of our friends together for a Halloween Party... word was out that there was a prize for best costume and they came to win!

Our friend Gabe was Edward Scissorhands and won the prize for best costume. Gabe was tied with votes with Ben who came as "Richard" in a Box (a hilarious Saturday Night Live skit by Justine Timberlake).

Jenna did an amazing job decorating the house, and I'm so thankful she allowed me to make a huge mess in my office constructing my costume. Here's the Ghost Buster "Proton Pack" I made to match the actual movie props.



Thanks to all our friends and family that made it, what a great time!





















Labels:

Pumpkin time!

Posted at 8:32 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
That scary, dress up... carve up your pumpkin time is here. We've been so busy this year it was great to take some time off and have some fun!

Jenna and Mina started carving pumpkins and I learned making pumpkin seeds is allot more work than I thought (sorting the seeds out of all the guts).




Right Image


Right Image

Labels:

Our New Small Group :-)

Posted at 9:53 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
John and I begun a new small group through our church (New Life in Renton). New Life created this new category for those who have been married two years or less. The design and purpose of this new style of small group is to help newly married couples adjust, grow and to have a sturdier, firmer start to their marriage.


It's so important to know just how much work, patience and understanding is needed to make a marriage last. Love, sometimes just isn't enough and I firmly believe that being able to admit to that and be willing to learn new tools to help you and your partner understand one another, will assist you in your marriage and will also bring growth to you and your spouse. I think that is what all married couples really want anyways, right?

Our new friends Misty and Shayne have been married since April of this year and our other new friends Manny and Nicole have been married since this past August. And of course John and I, being the "old married couple" that we are (haha) have been married now for just over a year. We are expecting one or two more couples to join our group, and I think we are all excited to meet our new friends.

We are so excited to have the opportunity to develop relationships with those in our group. Ralph and Kim, our group leaders have been married now for almost 34 years! Now how many of you know just how amazing that is! Congratulations Ralph and Kim!!!

It's amazing yet so sad that the divorce rate is now up to 45% (according to an article in USA today). I can personally say that I fully intend to stay out of those statistics! It's so great to know that there are groups out there, and people to facilitate them, that feel the same way and are willing to share their experience's with others to hopefully bring those numbers down.

John and I, both have growing personal relationships with God and are extremely excited to be a part of such an amazing church and small group. Stay tuned...because I can assure you that I will be keeping you up to date on our new friends and small group. I hope that all of our newlyweds read this and possibly even find a small group of their own. If you are interested in finding out more about New Life's small groups, please feel free to contact me personally or you may also contact Loran Lichty or Deanna Adler at New Life Chruch. In fact...they will be expecting to hear from you. :-)

Some of us are getting together this Saturday and will be attending the "Becoming Soulmates" marriage seminar with Drs. Les and Leslie Parrott at the Mercer Island Presbyterian Church . Tickets are $35 per person or $70 for the couple and includes lunch. The seminar is from 9:00am to 3:00pm. It's going to be a great seminar and there may be seats still available. Click on the MIPC link to find out more information.

Here is a picture of our new group. (taken with our Canon point and shoot camera...I can tell you right now that John won't like the quality of this picture. But it's all we have for now. :)







What a blessing it's been to have met each of you! We are very excited to get to know each and every one of you.
Your friends,
John & Jenna

Labels:

Small Groups are AWESOME!

Posted at 9:27 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Just this year John and I started a small group with our church, New Life, in Renton WA. Basically it's a group of 5 other married couples and we all get together once a week to discuss every day issues as it pertains to marriage, love and of course God! It's been an amazing experience for John and I and we have already created some everlasting bonds with our new friends and can only imagine how those bonds will grow over the next year and a half.

Our group started the first part of this year and although we've taken the summer off, (we'll get together on and off through out the Summer individually and as a group) we'll start back up this fall. To celebrate our new friendships and to kick off our Summer, friends Kevin and Bree Sabourin hosted a great BBQ. Here are a few pictures of our friends.





Labels:

Busy with a capital B!

Posted at 11:57 AM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
It's been a really busy month! I can hardly believe it's already the end of June! Well if you are wondering what John and I have been up to the past month...read on, but I warn you there's alot! :)

Lets start at the beginning shall we? John and I started packing to move to our new home the first part of May which if you've ever moved before, you know all about the packing and cleaning that goes along with it. Needless to say that consumed much of my time.






Friday May 18th, I was off to Las Vegas with one of my best friends to celebrate her bachelorette party! Oh what a blast we all had! Let me tell you, there's something to be said about going to Vegas in your late 20's vs. your early 20's! The first night there we were all back in our hotel rooms by 12:30 ordering room service instead of out all night, which would have been the case just a few years ago! :) Even though we were more of a laid back bunch, we had SO much fun and I think Shara, the bride to be, had a blast! That was our goal!







The following weekend (Memorial Day weekend) I had the pleasure of spending even more time with my gal pal Shara and her family! In fact Me, John his youngest daughter Mina met friends Shara, Andrew & Makaila and Chris & Karen (Andrew's sister and sister n' law) down in Oregon where we camped in tents...good'ol fashioned camping! Well we did have nice hot showers, clean bathrooms...okay well we didn't exactly "rough it" but we did sleep in tents...on the ground...well we slept on an air mattress but you get the picture! ;-)















We had yet another fabulous weekend and for the most part the thought of how much we had to do back at home...only entered my mind once or twice.



Once back home we continued to pack and clean because the upcoming weekend was our BIG move! We got the keys to our beautiful home on Thursday May 31st and the next day we began to do some needed touch up painting. Well we may have not needed to "touch up" the paint however the night before, after we go the keys...John decided to touch up a few places on various walls with the paint that was left over in the garage. It LOOKED like it was a perfect match to what was on the walls. It wasn't until the next day we came to start unloading some boxes that we noticed that all of the area's on walls that John had "touched up" were a different shade than what was originally there! SO, off to the hardware store we were to get 5 gallons of paint to re-do entire walls! ;-) I'm getting exhausted just thinking about it!







Once we were all done painting we were able to begin moving the rest of our stuff in.
I spent the first few weeks trying to unpack and get stuff situated.



Now to bring you up to this past week...Sunday June 10th, while at a friends wedding, I received a call from my Mom that my Great-Grandpa Jim had a stroke and was rushed to the hospital.
He was in stable condition but was given just day's...maybe weeks.
So all last week I spent running back and forth to Federal Way to try and spend what time I have with my Grandpa Jim. We have a really great family. My Grandpa Jim has been living with his daughter (NanaVal) and her husband (Grandpa Joe) for the past 6 years or so, since his wife (my Great Nana Della) passed away. He's suffered for many years, dementia and Alzheimer's. My Nana Val and Grandpa Joe have taken great care of Grandpa Jim and he's just as lucky to have them as we have all been to have him, in our lives.

While Grandpa Jim is still hanging on, he's been unconscious for the past few days and doctors say he can go anytime now. Grandpa Jim has 2 late wives and and of course Jesus waiting for him on the other side. That's precisely what comforts family during this time. We WILL see him and all of our loved ones who have gone before us, again one day.
The following (3) pictures taken by photographer Paul Sanders







Thank you to all who have kept us in your thoughts and prayers. Each one is felt and is very much appreciated. John and I fell extremely blessed to have friends & family such as you in our lives!


Blessings to you all!

Labels: ,

"The Year of Water" My 27th birthday celebration!

Posted at 10:06 AM | 1 comments | please leave a comment
Where do I start? This past week was full of fun and surprises! I turned 27 last Thursday and in celebration of this my wonderful husband made it, yet again, another memorable birthday for me!

I guess I have this thing with water...so John officially made this birthday "The Year of Water". Everything we did had something to do with, the water. ;-)

We started off by checking into a suite at the Silver Cloud Inn, on the Tacoma waterfront (our room had a water view). Once all settled in, we were off to a fabulous dinner at Harbor Lights, where we dinned and enjoyed a view of the Tacoma 'water' front. Although we were celebrating my birthday we took a quick detour to the PUG -Pictage User Group- meeting that was being held at the wonderfully talented MeRa Koh's home. What a delight to meet yet again, more great area photographers. John and I are really enjoying these monthly get together's and can't wait for the next one.

The remainder of the evening was spent relaxing with a glass of wine with my wonderful husband. The following day we were up bright and early and off for breakfast. John had the whole day planned out for us. First stop, Tacoma's Museum of Glass (which has great "water" fountains"). GREAT experience!
Then it was off to Seattle to Ride the Ducks (yup...you guessed it, also goes on the water)! I'd never been on this before and it was really cool! Then it was off and UP to the observation deck of the Space Needle (where we had a view of yes...the water). That's always a great experience!
Last but surely not least, we were headed off for a yummy dinner at Ray's Boat House. John phoned ahead and let them know it was my birthday and they had reserved for us a great corner table with a view of the 'water'. We were also visited by a beautiful bald eagle as we ate our dinner.

Although worn out, it was a great birthday adventure for me. Thank you John for making it happen! I love you more than you know!

Here are a few pictures from my "Year of Water" birthday (taken with our cute little point n' click Canon SD550).

Labels:

Happy 10th B-day Mina!

Posted at 6:19 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Today my youngest daughter is officially a "tweenager", welcome to the double digits Mina!

Dressed in her b-day dress (and face stickers sent by grandma) we found our way to Ice Cream and a movie... Meet the Robinsons. What a great day, Happy Birthday Mina, we love you!!!




Labels: ,

Yes it's true, we are on myspace

Posted at 1:13 PM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Everyone has a myspace page... right? Well we do, how about you :-)

http://myspace.com/johnkarwoski

Labels:

We have the BEST clients! A comment from Joel & Bernedette Moore

Posted at 8:35 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment





Hi John and Jenna,
Just wanted to let you know that we DID receive the DVD and image catalog of our pictures. You also included a nice thank you note, but it is WE who should be thanking YOU! The photos are absolutely beautiful and turned out exactly as we were hoping!! We are so incredibly happy and amazed at your work. You truly have a gift for photography! The colors are so vibrant, the images are so clear and you managed to capture SO MUCH emotion, detail and such amazing candid shots! We have gotten so many compliments from friends who have looked at our event online, some who only wish their own wedding photos had turned out so well! We would truly recommend you both to anyone!! Thank you again so much for being a part of our special day, and being the ones who allow us to remember that special day so well!
Now we're eager to see how the finished album comes out, as we love the individual photos!

Thanks so much, and have a wonderful week!

Bernadette and Joel Moore

Labels:

PUG meeting

Posted at 11:32 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Last night John and I attended our first PUG -Pictage User Group- hosted by Janet Klinger-www.janetklinger.com- and Jeff LaPlante-www.jefflaplante.com- at Janet's studio in Seattle.

John and I were amongst many wonderful photographers and found ourselves extremely overjoyed just being present. At the PUG meeting we discussed many different topics and shared ideas. Before and after the meeting John and I had the pleasure of speaking with fellow photographers in the Seattle area. It's great to meet other's who share the the same goal and passion for photography as John and I do. Can't wait for the next meeting! :)

Labels:

We just LOVE our feedback!

Posted at 8:34 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment


John and I just love to hear feedback from our couples and their families! I just wanted to share this one with you.

~Bernadette called me this afternoon to tell me to look at the pictures..........she loved them herself and wanted me to enjoy them also. You and your wife did an exceptional job.......we were so pleased with them.........you captured a wonderful day, now we can re live it. You both did such a fabulous job......from the bottom of my heart, thank you so much.
Lorrie Moore- (Joel's Mom)

Labels:

Jenna taking over Perfect Image Productions!

Posted at 8:50 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
We have some exciting news, just as my passion is weddings and Jenna of course shares in that... her passion surrounds the family. Pregnant mothers, babies and a growing families are things that Jenna herself is inspired by and loves to capture.




With the new roll out of jfkweddings.com devoted to weddings, Jenna and I will be changing around Perfect Image Productions for family photography. Just a couple weeks ago, she captured some amazing maternity photo's of her friend Nicole (just a week before she was due).


Keep an eye out for some changes on the Perfect Image site, and if you have any family photography questions.. just ask Jenna!



Labels: ,

jfkweddings.com is UP!!!

Posted at 2:02 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment
Awesome is the word I'm looking for... many late nights to get this put together but Jenna and I are very proud of our new site.

jfkweddings is designed mainly around one thing, pictures! We feel the new site fits us very well and shows a little of everything; feelings, portraits, engagements, etc

If you have a couple minutes (ok maybe 30) please take a look, tell us what you think because when it comes down to it, it's designed for people like you.

http://jfkweddings.com/

Labels:

Let's get this blogger started!

Posted at 9:37 AM | 0 comments | please leave a comment

John and I are SO excited to finally get our blog up and running! What an awesome way for us to share with our clients, friends and fellow photographers what we are up to!


I have watched John's passion for photography skyrocket since dedicating his time (mainly) to weddings. John has always loved being behind the camera (and has been doing so for over 12 years now) however, it's only been the past two years that his love for photography has really been realized. Being invited into someone's life...to capture their unique and passionate love is just amazing...no wonder why John is so excited!

John is downstairs right now working...hard as usual! :) He's working on some of our latest weddings and hopes to be finished editing them this week. Of course we will be posting some of our latest work so stay tuned...

Labels: